Since my last blog a lot has changed, I think I had just completed The Vitruvian Aquabike which circles around Rutland Water, coming 4th behind an ITU-Pro and a World Champion kinda put things into perspective a little considering what a journey I’be been experiencing in the past 18 months. I also said that was it for 2022…well, not quite!
In my boredom whilst Suzy was away in Bilbao for the European Middle Distance Championships, I entered a local Aquabike last-minute. The “Centurion” was a 100k Triathlon in Gt Yarmouth, swimming in the North Sea, out into the Norfolk Broads for 3-laps and then back for a seafront run, with me obviously missing out on the run. Last years’ event was a disaster as the organisers didn’t take the tide into account – very strong off Yarmouth as a rule and swim was almost abandoned and athletes were offered to swim just one, two or three laps whilst racing in the water! This year I had hoped that the organisers had a handle on this, and in the beginning I thought they had but friends’ results, even my own, had proved they still don’t know what they are doing. A good friend, Rob was visibly finishing in 3rd place but somehow was relegated to 6th because the electronic results guy had inputted the times incorrectly. My finish experience, at the time, was pretty good….I won my event, first across the line…VISIBLY first across the line. But as per my friend, they managed to mess up the results and I somehow got 2nd??? And, with the apparent winner nowhere to be seen (he’d packed up and gone home) they refused to give out the trophies.
A moral victory -I’ll take that.
Time to concentrate on Majorca Parts 1 & 2…
My first part was to be the bike-leg in the Mixed Relay at the Challenge Mallorca 70.3 with Danny (swimmer) and Katie (runner). We’ve done this event before a few years ago as an end of season “jolly” and somehow managed to come 2nd in the relay event which qualified us to The Championships in Bratislava. We’ve taken part in The Championships twice now as result and came 4th and 2nd so I think it’s safe to say that scratch was itched. My personal intentions this time was to just get close to the times I achieved when I had two good legs. I think if truth be told that was the same intentions for my teammates – to just get close to the time we achieved back in 2019.
Adding to the mix we had both Vicki & James doing the Triathlon as solo’s and Matt coming along just for the experience and to ride on Mallorca roads. As previously we arrived in Peguera on the Wednesday evening, just in time for the hotel to lay on a midnight snack for us all. Thursday morning we built our bikes (or went to the bike hire place to collect) and we all set off on the recce ride. I’d ridden this course quite a few times whether competing or not so I was full of information for the guys before Saturdays race. Friday was just an easy rest day whilst Suzy, Matt, Michelle and Cheryl went off on a beautiful ride on Mallorca North coastal roads.
Saturday – Race Day arrived and tensions were high between competitors, the previous days’ rough seas had subsided and it looked pretty calm. As the swimmers started their swim-leg I walked off towards my hotel which was only 50 meters away from the transition area and started to get ready. Once in the transition area with my fellow relay bike-leg competitors we all just waited for our swimmers to come out of the water and hand us the timing chip. One by one they started coming in and in the process I was weighing up the opposition as they headed off on the bike before me. Danny then came in for the handover and I hobbled out not the bike leg mount-line and I was away…in 7th place. Straight into “chase-down” mode I hit the first climb probably too hard (definitely actually!) and started to have words with myself to calm down or else I’d slowly die over the two-lap 90k route. As the relay event was off last I had the whole field of solos in front of me, pro’s, age-groupers and 6 relay teams ahead of me so plenty of carrots! One by one I picked off the riders in front of me and although some riders had the better of me on their road bikes on the climbs I was soon past them in my TT position on the flats.
Meanwhile, Suzy, Danny, Michelle and Cheryl were keeping an eye on my placings on the results app. 6th place, 5th place, 4th place, 3rd and then 2nd and then in I came to T2 to handover to Katie 4 seconds short of 1st place. My time – 4 minutes quicker than ever before, even with good legs. The effort had taken it’s toll in the warm October weather and I was pretty ill afterwards and had to sit down for a while. Eventually I headed off to the hotel, after encouraging the other guys who we were there with onto the run-leg. Not much time had passed and I needed to get to the finish area to run in with Danny & Katie for the finishers photo. In she came and we knew we were ahead of many relay teams overall, not just the mixed element. I confirmed with the timekeeper that we had actually won! Also coming in 3rd overall out of the 32 teams who entered.
That evening we celebrated our win, along with Vicki getting 3rd in her age-group and with James for finishing despite every reason not to finish with back pain and succumbing to the heat on the run. Separately there was BTC team-mate Jonny who took part and also finished in a pretty remarkable time. As previously experienced, the looks I got climbing the top-spot with my walking stick got a few extra claps but for me this had topped my last 18 months. Top-spot in an international event!
At the end of the weekend they other guys flew home and 5 of us headed over to the east side of the island for another few days of relaxation. I was keen to keep this vein of fitness going so I rode over to the other side of the island whilst the others took a taxi. The next few days consisted of early morning scheduled rides on my TT bike before getting back and having lunch and chilling out at the pool or going for walks along the Alcudia bay which was quite relaxing. Friday, we headed back home – Part 1 complete.
That weekend there was a beautiful wedding with Ben & Abi, two great BTC athletes and myself & Suzy were very privileged to attend all day and evening. We were also choked up a bit when we were mentioned in the speeches, Suzy for initially introducing Abi to triathlon as a sport and then to me for helping her towards her first 70.3 finish line. I suppose it just goes to show – the smallest acts of kindness to people can have the most profound change in their lives – deep right?
Anyway, back to Part 2…
The following Tuesday I was off on my own to Mallorca again. In fairness I needed to be there on the Saturday but flights were so expensive it was about the same price to get me there on the Tuesday (£9.99) and put me in a hotel for 4 nights! I’d organised a bike to hire for 3 days and headed out into the countryside and sometimes into the mountains in preparation for what was to come on Saturday. The hotel was “ok” but not as good as the one we usually visit. Suzy had booked me there to give a review for next time we came over – it’s a “no” from me.
Saturday soon arrived and I was picked up by Paul – who I soon realised was the training camp mechanic, photographer and feed station guy. I arrived at a secluded villa just outside Pollenca and met my new teammates at the Sa Calobra Training Camp. I also met Aurelien – the ride guide, a passionate cyclists who has competed at the very top level, coming 2nd in Mallorca 312 (if you know you know) and also winning/competing in several other events on the island. His wife – Laura was the chef preparing fresh food every morning, noon and night for the 7 of us over the next eight days.
Day 1 – meet & greet. Briefing over the next 8 days and housekeeping and ride rules.
Day 2 – FTP Test followed by a 3hr ride including two 1.7-2.7k climbs at 8%. If the FTP test didn’t wipe me out then the 3hr ride definitely did! The flat ride back was fun as I was going toe-to-toe with Aurelien at the front. Thinking back that was a bad idea as that put me in the red for the following day. Those two climbs I had never done so I was very pleased to find some new roads for my next visit. The evening debarred also included loads of advice on training with a powermeter.
Day 3 – off on the flats to Randa climb some 60k away and then across to San Salvador to finish. In the briefing that morning we were advised what our power outputs should be on theses two climbs, based on our FTP results. I hit the Randa (Cure) climb pretty hard and surprisingly I managed to PB it by over a minute, looking back I had attempted that climb 15 times over the years so I was pretty chuffed. Then over to San Salvador where the wheels kinda fell off – I still managed to get to the top in 2nd place behind James, a 55kg Scot with a similar power output to me (you do the maths). Here the ride finished and we all got in the minibus only to watch Aurelien ride home the 60k to complete a 160k (100 mile) ride. I might try that next time!
Day 4 – The Queen Stage, starting near Peguera we rode the whole of the North Coastal Road back to Pollenca including the big one – Puig Major from the foot of Soller. I’ve always managed to avoid this one as it’s so long and the only previous time I’ve ridden it I stopped several times and it ended soon after the top due to snow! This time I was keen just to get to the top without stopping and soon I had a job on my hands as it was quite hot and my heart rate was soaring with very little effort. One by one I was passed by most of the group and it was clear this was just one to tick-off rather than race up. Nonetheless, we all met at the top and carried on back to the villa for plenty of food, massage, compression boots and more food.
Day 5 – The “Easy Day” going up Batalla, another iconic climb on the island, followed by a short/sharp climb in Pollenca which I had walked up with Suzy, Danny, Michelle and Cheryl about 10 days previously.
Day 6 – Formentor with a twist, out to the iconic lighthouse, but first a sharp tun right at the top of the first climb out of Port Pollenca to the fire tower for some quite remarkable views. Then through to the Lighthouse and then returning on the same road, then through to Alcudia on the bay road (one of my favourites) and then to another new climb behind Alcudia at a 9% gradient – that hurt. Them back to the villa for more recovery.
Day 7 – The Sa Calobra TT, this is where we headed off to Sa Calobra firstly climbing Ferminia and then descending down to the fishing village. From here we were all handicapped based on our power readings throughout the week. I was 2nd from last with James behind me. Aurelien was last man off as he was the guide but was still in “race-mode” and wanted to beat us all. My estimated power was 290w so I set out at 300+ knowing I’d die halfway up! I surprisingly caught 3 (Mike from MK, Alain & Ingrid, a married couple from Paris) by halfway and then picked off Dave – a US rider at around 6k with only Robbie – another Scot, ahead of me. I didn’t get him and he won the TT as a result, I came in about 2 minutes later followed by Dave, James, Mike, Ingrid, Alain and then Aurelien. My time – another PB, this time by over 10 minutes better than previous ascents.
Day 8 – Goodbye. The 5th of November – Fireworks night back in the UK and I’m sitting in Palma airport in 27 degrees heat. This, if anything, has confirmed my desire to live here one day. Then back to Luton Airport in during rain – back to reality.
Looking back this has without a doubt been the best cycling holiday I’ve been on, some many new climbs and new roads to ride, a lot of climbing PB’s, some awesome weather and riding with others who will remain as friends, and Aurelien…what a guy, I intend on meeting up with him next year at Long Course Weekend and I’m even looking at booking another training camp, with Suzy maybe late next year or early 2024.
Back to reality…
As soon as I was back, I was off to London for a private Orthopaedic Consultation where the “there’s nothing more we can do for you” has quickly been turned on its head with a view to at least two surgeries to try & correct the initial surgery. The words “get it right first time” were mumbled a few times and it seems 2022-2023 might be affected moving forwards. The first step might be to get the hardware out and have a look around whilst in there to see the extent of the damage. Then it’s healing time for me to fill the holes that the screws have created. Once the bones are fully healed, and if the knee looks in a good state to repair, the surgeon may go in again and re-break and correct the knee. Suzy tells me to not get my hopes up, but for a surgeon (at last) to finally say they can help me is a relief and even I have just the one surgery I’m hopeful this will improve the pain I’m in at the moment.
My London trip was also supposed to include another orthopaedic consult which was more related to intense physiotherapy, but this was cancelled last-minute because of the first appointment. I guess the idea behind this was if I decided to have surgery then I wouldn’t need physiotherapy until after going under the knife. I don’t really have an opinion on this decision – I’ll leave that to the experts but this roller coaster journey is still ongoing and full of surprises. Whilst we were there in London I took advantage of the London Aquatics Centre and did a swim session there followed by a Wattbike session in the Velopark Velodrome, and then we both headed to the West End to watch a show before returning home.
I’m acutely aware that these past few weeks of so much activity looks like (a simplistic view which many people take) is that I’m back to my old-self. To ride a bike for so many miles must mean I’m ok now? Nope.
Still walking with a stick, unable to get out of bed easily, unable to go up a set of stairs smoothly, on pain medication post-rides, sitting here right now with constant pain in my knee around the shin area. It seems I have my own built-in barometer as the cold weather is making the knee painful the colder it gets. I was questioned the other day by a so-called health professional why I’m still limping and in pain, my answer – “because one of your colleagues didn’t put Humpty Dumpty back to gather again”. I smiled and carried on with my day. My thoughts go back to the wedding weekend – your interactions can have a profound reaction on people. This “interaction” has set me back quite a few months and it’s safe to say I had a minor spiral this past weekend and really didn’t want to come out of my shell. Suzy, as always steps in and helps me and reassures me that everything is still going in the right direction. Every blog I say how great she is at encouraging me and reassuring me things are “ok”, so I’ll stop right there and not bore you with the usual ramblings.
Moving forwards, I’ll just carry on with my turbo sessions as road riding still seems inherently dangerous with drivers hating anything on two-wheels. I’ll continue my swimming as that seems to be going on ok. My gym sessions with my PT continue with a few more things to think about following my orthopaedic consultation. My chiropractic sessions will continue as my back has become really tight due to me being away and unable to have continual care. My psychology sessions are more than ever needed as we’re now deep-diving into the actual trauma of the crash and the effects of my not riding on the road as much anymore. The Aquabike races in 2023 are still there as a goal to head to but this may well be interrupted by surgery but focus is vital at times like these when others would lose their sanity so I’m carrying on regardless. pig-ignorant – that’s me!